Means for explosively inserting orifices in pipe in wells



Aug. 19, 1947; M. M. KINLEY MEANS FOR EXPLOSIVELY INSERTI NG ORIFICES INPIPE IN WELLS Filed July 51, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l M: NH. KmLEYINVENTOR. Jag 691m HTY'O FWEKS,

Aug. 19, 1947. M. M. KINLEY MEANS FOR EXPLOSIVELY I NSERI'ING ORIFICESIN PIPE IN WELLS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1942 NHKiNLEY.

INVENTOR. J

w M v Patented Aug. 19, 1947 MEANS FOR EXPLOSIVELY IN SEE-TING ORIFICESIN PIPE IN WELLS 14 Claims.

The invention relates to a means for. explosively inserting orifices inpipe while the pipe is disposed in a well bore.

The art of perforating pipe in position in the well bore is old, suchperforations having been accomplished by shooting a bullet entirely thruthe pipe to leave an opening thru which the fiuid from the formationoutside the pipe could enter. These bullets have been of a pointedconstruction, tending to deform the material of the pipe so as to leavethe opening and it has been found that a majority of the openings, dueto the fact that the bullet displaced the metal to form the opening,were surrounded with cracks or fissures in the metal and in someinstances the bullet tended to split the pipe for a considerabledistance on each side of the opening. Quite often also the opening wouldbe of substantially greater size than the bullets, due to the frayingout of the metal as the bullet was caused to penetrate the metal.

The present invention contemplates a tool and particular types ofpunches and bushings whereby an opening of a predetermined size isprovided in the pipe. The size may be predetermined by using a punch ofa definite size to punch a slug of the metal from the pipe or to insertan orifice bushing in the pipe by a punching operation where suchorifice bushing is of a predetermined size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool for shootingorifice bushings in the pipe in a well bore.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orifice bushing havinga fiange thereon to arrest its movement as it is pnuched into the pipeso that it will be definitely anchored in a predetermined position.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an explosivelyactuated bushing inserting tool for wells.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent whenthe following description is considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a Vertical sectional view of the tool being assembled andmounted in the well bore.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View which is a, continuation of Fig. 1and illustrating the lower portion of the tool.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views taken on lines 3-3, 3-4! and 5-45respectively of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a broken sectional view illustrating the punch used to removea slug of metal from the pipe.

Fig. '7 is a side elevation with certain portions shown in section ofthe entire tool as it is anchored in position ready to insert thebushing.

Fig. 8 illustrates the explosive the tool.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view showing the wedge as havingadvanced the carrier to punch the bushing thru the pipe.

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view showing the bushing as having beeninserted and the carrier returned to the housing.

Fig. '7 shows a pipe 2 which may be of any type disposed in a well bore,such as the tubing or casing. It is desired to provide an opening inthis pipe to provide for a flow of fiuid thru the wall of the pipe. Thetool for accomplishing this is illustrated generally at 3 andconstitutes a housing 4 which is supported upon a rod 5 which is, inturn, connected to a suitable cable or other means whereby the tool islowered into and removed from the well bore.

This rod 5 has a head or weight 6 thereon which is arranged forreciprocation in the cap member 1 connected to the upper end of thehousing 4. The housing is arranged to be anchored in the pipe 2 by meansof a slip or another dog 8 which is dovetailed at 9 into the lowerportion of the housing as best seen in Fig. 4.

It seems obvious that by sharply dropping the instrument, that the slip8 will move along its inclined support and engage the periphery of thepipe, whereupon further lowering of the tool causes the slip to assumethe load and to firmly fix the tool into the pipe at that elevation.

A force for punching the bushing into the pipe is created by anexplosive action. A shell or cartridge ii] is shown in the upper end ofthe housing 3 and will contain a charge of powder. This cartridge willbe exploded by a firing pin H which is shown in Fig. 7 as being retainedin an inoperative position by a shear pin l2. The upper end iii of thisfiring pin projects into the cap ll, so that. it may be struck by theweight portion 6 of-the supporting mechanism. When the tool is anchoredwith the slip 8, if the'supporting cable is released sharply, the weightportion 6 will drop, striking the upper end I3 of the firing pin so asto shearthe pin l2 and cause penetration of the cartridge by the firingpin as seen in Fig. 8.

The cartridge Ii] is disposed in the chamber l5 which also receives theplunger or Wedge member I 6 which is slidably mounted in the chamber l5.This wedge member is best seen in Fig. 1 and has a lower wedge face l8thereon mechanism of and a, recess l9 positioned a short distance abovethe wedge. A suitable sealing gasket 20 may be provided on the upper endthereof to confine the pressure of the explosion. It seems obvious thatwhen the explosion occurs, that this wedge member it will be forcedsharply in the chamber it: so that the wedge face 18 thereof will causea carrier member 21 to be moved outwardly thru an opening 22 in the sideof the housing 4. This carrier member may be of any desiredconfiguration but is shown in front face elevation in Fig. and issubstantially circular with a plurality of grooves 23 along the sidethereof so as to admit the flow of fluid around the carrier. Thiscarrier is normally retracted as shown in Fig. 2 and forced against theinclined face 18 of the wedge member.

When the explosion occurs the wedge member is driven downwardly as shownin Figs. 8 and 9 so that due to the advancing wedge, the carrier memberis forced laterally of the housing to cause the bushing 30 to be punchedthru the pipe, as seen in Fig. 9. This bushing 38 is mounted on theouter face of the carrier 2! by means of the frangible pins 3!. Thus,when the explosion occurs, the wedge member will move downwardly,forcing the carrier and the bushing outwardly until the flange portion32 on the bushing engages the entire peripheral surface of the pipe.This arrests any further movement of the bushing and the rebound fromthis action will cause the shearing of the pins 3! 'so as to release thecarrier from the bushing. The bushing will be wedged firmly into theopening in the pipe which has been punched by the inward tapered end 33of the bushing. By the time this rebound occurs, the shoulder 35 of thewedge member will have passed the carrier and the recess I9 will havemoved into position behind the carrier so that the rebound permits thecarrier to move back into the housing, as seen in Fig. 10. The carrierwill normally be retained in retracted position by a shear pin 3 whichis released when the wedge member forces the carrier member outwardly. Abody 36 of soft metal such as lead may be deposited in the lower portionof the chamber it so that the wedge member will abut against it and cometo rest.

It will be particularly noted that the bushing 30 has an orifice 37therein which may be of any desired size so as to admit the volume offlow desired when the pressure applied is considered. In View of thefact that the bushing is wedged firmly into the pipe and may be made ofany suitable hard wear-resistant material, it seems that an orifice of apredetermined size has been punched into the pipe and is firmly anchoredtherein by a wedging action. If desired the periphery of this bushingmay have a series of kerfs 38 thereon or it may be of a suitable taperto effect the wedging action in the opening.

Attention is also .directed to the fact that the forward end 33 of thebushing is not pointed as the usual type of perforating bullet isconstructed, but is .constructed in the nature of a metal punch so as.to punch a slug of metal from the pipe. In this manner splitting andfraying around the opening of the bushing is avoided because a certainamount of metal is completely removed and the bushing inserted in itsplace. In actual practice bushings inserted in this manner have beenvery firmly anchored and it has been practically impossible to removethem.

Fig. 6 shows another type of bushing which has no orifice therethru butis in the form of a tapered punch Gil, having the enlarged end i!standing outwardly from the carrier. In this manner a definite punchingaction will occur to punch a slug of a definite size from the pipe. Inactual operation a punch of this sort leaves a definite size openingwhich is clean and clear cut and avoids a splitting and fraying of theopening. It seems clear that by varying the size of this bushing orpunch that any desired size of opening may be created.

While a bushing 3d of a length to merely penetrate the pipe is shown, abushing of two or three inches in length may be provided so as topenetrate cement, a mud cake or the face of the formation so as toexclude loose materials in the well bore outside the pipe.

The invention has a particular advantage in connection with the flowingof wells where a well is brought in and has been flowing, due to thenatural formation pressures. The usual practice is to merely insert astring of tubing and allow a flow to occur thru the tubing. After aperiod of time, however, the natural formation pressures begin todecrease due to the escape of the oil and the gas and very often itbecomes necessary to introduce a flow of pressure fluid to elevate theoil from the well. The general practice at present is to remove thetubing and add theretosuitable flowing valves and control devices ofvarious types whereby pressure introduced around the tubing will beadmitted to the tubing to elevate the oil or liquid therein.

Th present invention contemplates that the tool described may be loweredthru the tubing while the tubing remains in place in the well.

An orifice bushing having a suitable sized opening can be punched intothe tubing to admit the pressure fluid from outside the tubing, the toolremoved, and the flowing of the well continued. This operation obviouslyavoids the removal of the tubing and servicing of the well can beaccomplished in a few minutes. time and permits the creation of anorifice opening in any desired elevation. A number of such orifices maybe positioned along the tubing if it is desired to admit pressure fluidat difierent elevations.

Broadly the invention contemplates a means and method of punching pipein wells to leave a clear, clean cut opening of a predetermined size orto insert an orifice bushing having an orifice therein of apredetermined size.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for shooting orifice bushings into pipe in a well borecomprising a housing, means to anchor said housing in the pipe, a wedgemember slidable within the housing, an explosive means to drive saidmember, a carrier disposed against the wedge face on said wedge memberand movable laterally of said housing by movement of said wedge memberby the explosive means, and an orifice bushing releasably mounted onsaid carrier and to be forced into the pipe by movement of the carrier,said bushing having an orifice of a predetermined size and being made ofawear resistant material.

2. A device for shooting orifice bushings into pipe in a well borecomprising a housing, means to anchor aid housing in the pipe, a wedgemember slidable within the housing, an explosive means to drive saidmember, a carrier disposed against the wedge face on said wedge memberand movable laterally of said housing by movement of said wedge memberby the explosive means, an orifice bushing releasably mounted on saidcarrier and to be forced into the pipe by movement of the carrier, saidbushing having an orifice of a predetermined size and being made of awear resistant material, and a recess in said Wedge member to permitsaid carrier to rebound into the housing due to the force of punchingthe orifice bushing into the pipe.

3. A device for shooting orifice bushings into pipe in a well borecomprising a housing, means to anchor said housing in the pipe, a wedgemember slidable within the housing, an explosive means to drive saidmember, a carrier disposed against the wedge face on said wedge memberand movable laterally of said housing by movement of said wedge memberby the explosive means, an orifice bushing releasably mounted on saidcarrier and to be forced into the pipe by movement of the carrier, saidbushing having an orifice of a predetermined size and being made of awear resistant material, and a means to manipulate the device into andout of the well bore, to anchor and release it relative to the pipe andto initiate the explosion.

4. A gun perforator including a housing, an explosive actuated membertherein, a bushing to be punched into a pipe in the well bore, and abushing carrier actuated by said member, said bushing being of apredetermined size and disposed at the front of said carrier so as topunch an orifice in the pipe of a known size.

5. A gun perforator including a housing, an explosive actuated membertherein, a bushing to be punched into a pipe in the Well bore, and abushing carrier actuated by said member, said bushing being disposed atthe front of said carrier and of a hard wear resistant material havingan orifice therethru of a known size whereby the size of the openingthus provided thru the pipe is known.

6. An orifice bushing to be forced into a well pipe in situ comprising abody portion, an outstanding flange at the rear end of said body, and anorifice extending thru the body and flange.

7. An orifice bushing to be punched into a well pipe in situ comprisinga body portion, an outstanding flange at the rear end of said body, andan orifice extending thru the bushing body and flange which is smallcompared to the size of the bushing, the periphery of said body beingtapered toward said flange so as to wedge itself in the opening punchedin the pipe.

8. A tool for punching orific bushings into a pipe in a well borecomprising a. body, a wedge member carried thereby, means to actuatesaid wedge member, an orifice bushing adapted to punch a hole in thepipe and be forced into such hole, and means disposed against andoperable by movement of said wedge member to force said bushing to punchthe pipe.

9. In a tool for forcing orifice bushings into pipe in a well boreincluding a housing, an orifice bushing adapted to penetrate a pipe in awell, means in said housing supporting said bushing for movementlaterally of the housing, and a wedge member in the housing to bearagainst said means and. force said bushing to punch into the pipe.

10. An orifice bushing for insertion in a pipe in situ in a well borecomprising a body of metal, a flow orifice therethrough which is smallas compared to the diameter of the body, a forward end thereon to punchthrough the pipe, and a tapered area to wedge into the opening thuspunched.

11. An orifice bushing for insertion in a pipe in situ in a Well borecomprising a body of metal, a flow orifice therethrough which is smallas compared to the size of the bushing, a forward end thereon to punchthrough the pipe, and a tapered area to wedge into the opening thuspunched, said metal comprising a hardened wear resistant material.

12. An orifice bushing insert tool to be lowered into a pipe in the Wellbore including a body, a bushing therein, means to support the bushing,means including a tapered Wedge engaging said first means to move suchfirst means laterally to punch the bushing into the pipe, and means tosupport the tool in an anchored position in the pipe for operation.

13. An orifice bushing insert tool to be lowered into a pipe in the wellbore including a body, a bushing therein, means to support the bushing,means including a tapered wedge engaging said first means to move suchfirst means laterally to punch the bushing into the pipe, and means tosupport the tool in an anchored position for operation, said last meansincluding slips to set the tool in the pipe.

14. A gun perforator including a housing, an explosive actuated plungertherein, a bushing to be punched into a pipe in the well bore, and acarrier for said bushing which carrier is actuated by said plunger, saidbushing being disposed at the front end of said carrier and of a hardWear resistant material having an orifice therethrough of a known sizewhereby the size of the opening thus provided through the pipe is known,said bushing having a flange thereon to stop said lbushing within thepipe.

MYRON M. KINLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,212,044 Ridley Aug. 20, 1940895,733 Decker Aug. 11, 1908 1,976,776 Gookin Oct. 16, 1934 2,112,026Jones Mar. 22, 1938 1,838,749 Dester Dec. 29, 1931 898,729 Davey 1 Sept.15, 1908 2,186,323 Brown Jan. 9, 1940

